THE Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is defending its accommodation arrangements for athletes and officials at the Asian Games, following complaints about cramped beds, converted wooden containers and disruptions caused by heavy rain.
The OCA said Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, that all 17,000-plus athletes and officials who registered by the July entry deadline have been given appropriate lodging for the Games, according to an Associated Press (AP) report.
The Asian Games officially open Saturday and run through Oct. 4 in and around Nagoya, featuring at least 11,000 athletes competing in 43 sports from 45 countries and regions. The number of athletes is larger than at the Summer Olympics.
Instead of constructing a dedicated athletes’ village, Japanese organizers opted for a combination of a cruise ship, hotel rooms and temporary wooden container units.
The accommodation plan has drawn criticism from several countries. Some basketball players have complained that the beds are too short, while hundreds of athletes were evacuated last week after heavy rainfall in the region.
“We don’t want to leave a white elephant after the games here,” OCA athletes commission deputy chairman Tayyab Ikram said Friday at a news conference, according to AP. “So it was not easy discussions, but it was also not a compromise, because then we find a very unique kind of alternatives.”
Cost control has been a major factor for Japan, which spent an estimated $13 billion to stage the pandemic-delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics. A government audit has suggested the actual cost was likely double that figure, AP reported.
The Italian cruise ship Costa Serena is docked at a port in Nagoya and can accommodate up to 5,000 athletes and officials. Athletes will rotate in and out of the ship as events conclude and new competitions begin.
Cruise ships have previously been used to house athletes at major international sporting events.
The accommodation challenges appear to have been compounded by late entries after the July deadline, as well as the addition of sports such as teqball, mixed martial arts, and padel.
OCA Director General Husain Al Musallam defended the decision not to build a permanent athletes village, saying organizers must also consider what happens to such facilities after the Games. / LBG
